Manchester United are reportedly putting plans in place to prevent Rangers supporters from entering the home section at Old Trafford three months before their Europa League clash. Red Devils officials are concerned that daring Scots could attempt to take over the Premier League club’s home on January 23.
The new-look Europa League league phase has pitted United against Scottish Premiership giants Rangers. It is a clash already being dubbed the ‘Battle of Britain’, with the game expected to be fiercely contested.
There are still a little over three months until the match is played. It is the seventh of eight matchdays, meaning both clubs could by that point know if they are set to advance to the next stage of the competition.
However, United chiefs are planning well in advance and fears have been raised that Rangers fans could attempt to buy highly-sought tickets for the match in the home end of Old Trafford. To avoid such a scenario, the Daily Mail reports that the club are only selling home tickets to United fans who were signed up as members prior to the draw taking place.
United are understood to be determined to learn from the mistakes that saw around 2,000 extra Galatasaray fans flood Old Trafford last season. Turkish supporters were seen cheering on the visitors from within the home sections of the stadium.
Galatasaray sealed a 3-2 Champions League triumph that night and piled the pressure on Erik ten Hag. United ultimately exited the competition after finishing bottom of their group.
The Red Devils issued an apology to supporters for their failure to prevent Galatasaray fans from entering the stadium. However, the visit of Rangers has reportedly been identified as another ‘high-risk’ fixture in which hugely in-demand home tickets could land in the hands of away fans.
Ten Hag will hope to have steered United back on track by the time the 55-time Scottish champions are welcomed to Old Trafford. The Dutchman secured his first win in five Premier League matches with a 2-1 victory over Brentford on Saturday. He had been under pressure to deliver vastly improved performances after a tricky start to the campaign, in which United are also without a win in their opening two European outings.
Meanwhile, Rangers have endured a difficult time of their own of late. The Ibrox outfit lost 1-0 against Kilmarnock on Sunday and are already six points behind league leaders Celtic. Manager Philippe Clement finds himself under mounting pressure.
